# How High School Became an Academic Pressure Cooker Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/kqed-s-forum-910728/how-high-school-became-an-academic-pressure-cooker Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/kqed-s-forum-910728/how-high-school-became-an-academic-pressure-cooker.md Podcast: [KQED's Forum](https://stenobird.com/podcast/kqed-s-forum-910728) Published: 2026-09-29T19:17:00+00:00 Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC6598374181.mp3 Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC6598374181.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/kqed-s-forum-910728/episodes/how-high-school-became-an-academic-pressure-cooker Duration seconds: 3286 ## Resource Extreme academic workloads and relentless achievement culture are driving a youth mental health crisis in classrooms nationwide — especially among students trying to get into top colleges. That’s according to Stuart Slavin, a pediatrician who researches how to improve student mental health and the author of “The Success Trap.” We’ll hear from Slavin, a former school administrator and a high school journalist about how to escape “The Success Trap” and how parents can help their kids navigate this pressure. Guests: Stuart Slavin, author, The Success Trap: How the Pressure to Stand Out Is Fueling Anxiety, Depression, and Burnout in Teens—And the Fundamental Fix They Deserve; pediatrician, medical educator, researcher Ananya Kota, student journalist, Los Altos High School – published an article in May in student paper detailing the pressures students face Chris Funk, former superintendent, Dublin Unified School District – initiated policy limiting the number of AP/honors courses students can take yearly Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/kqed-s-forum-910728/episodes/how-high-school-became-an-academic-pressure-cooker/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/kqed-s-forum-910728/how-high-school-became-an-academic-pressure-cooker.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.